BONO gives us some good news

This is BONO, singer of the Irish band U2, giving us some good news about poverty. Watch his TED Talk and answer all the pages in your book.

PROPS in Presentations

As you know, this time we are giving presentations with the help of props. I am including a post from IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING. Read the blog carefully and consider your options. You can also watch Davis Hynder to get tips.
I am also including the TED talks by JJ ABRAMS and Hans Roslin so you can revisit them and get some ideas for your presentation, 

Who Has Time to Read?

I certainly hope you do. Technology has brought on different ways to have access to story telling. I must admit that I was a critic of reading from an iPad, or a Kindle; however I have come to embrace it. I still prefer paper, traditional books. Romantic reasons I suppose. Audio Books came about years ago to help people with poor eyesight, or people looking to beat the stress of traffic jams. Now we have podcasts. Here is a podcast from The New Yorker. The Burglar was written by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, and it is here read by her. The audio 40 minutes long, including the interview, so take your time.  

Young Zaphod Plays It Safe

It is time to read a bit of science fiction. This is a short story by the great Douglas Adams. Click HERE to download the seven-page PDF.

GIVING A PRESENTATION - TIPS, BODY LANGUAGE AND GESTURES

A Few Tips on Public Speaking.

1. Practice. Many people fail at speaking in public because they don't practice before. Make sure that you know when you are going to use gestures.
2. KNOW what you are talking about. Study the material and write it yourself, use your words.
3. Introduce yourself and classmates.
4. State your topic, and the main parts of your presentations. If necessary, state the purpose of your talk; persuade, inform, etc. 
5. Make eye contact. It helps connect with your audience. Look at the audience, NOT at the presentation or the teacher. PowerPoint is a tool, NOT the center of your presentation.
6. Control mannerisms. Your body language is very important. Don't put your hands in your pockets, or cross your arms... watch this video. 
7. Enunciate. Speak clearly. NEVER worry about your accent; embrace it.
8. DON'T read your presentation. That is sure way to lose the interest of your audience.
9. Enjoy it. If you enjoy your presentation, your audience will too.

TOO FEW WOMEN LEADERS

Watch the complete TED Talk by Sheryl Sandberg. This the complete transcript. You can download it or read along as you watch.

PowerPoint and putting people to sleep.

When was the last time you saw or did an interesting or exciting presentation? Was it creative? Are you creative? You are about to do your first real presentation in class. 

There is a certain level of expectations, after all, you are an Advanced English Student. However there are a few things that you have to take into account: 

When you do a presentation in PowerPoint, take this into account. There are so many PowerPoint presentations that are just absolutely boring. 

1. So don't be boring. Here is a fun video that you can watch to get an idea of what to avoid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbSPPFYxx3o 

SUCCESS IS YOURS!!

End of the Cassini Explorer

Read this, watch the videos and pictures. On your notebook, you will write a 300-word essay detailing your impression of this event based on what we saw in Brian Cox's TEDtalk, which I have included in full. 

I have also included his TEDtalk on CERN's Supercollider, which will definitely help you have a larger understanding of his passion for curiosity driven science and exploration.

WRITE CLEARLY AND NEATLY.